Attendance much higher for this year’s Home and Garden Show

A record number of visitors attended the seventh annual New Albany Home and Garden Show. The two-day event’s sponsors, the Union County Master Gardeners, said 2,800 people visited this year’s show, an increase of about 1,000 over the 2014 attendance.

Visitors entered the 2015 New Albany Home and Garden Show through this whimsical gate.

Weeks of planning and work, interesting programs by popular speakers, expanded exhibits and good weather Friday and Saturday, April 10 and 11, created success.

The show at the Union County Fairgrounds kicked off with a luncheon at noon Friday. Lynette McDougald, a florist and horticulture specialist from Mississippi State University, presented her program “April Showers to Flowers,” at the luncheon.

The 2015 model of the Home and Garden Show’s icon “Lady Estelle,” proudly adorned in ivy and elaeagnus.

Friday afternoon’s speaker was veterinarian Dr. Shannon McGee with his “Jungle in Your Own Backyard” lecture.

Feature Speaker for the Show was Felder Rushing, the popular writer and host of the Mississippi Public Broadcasting weekly radio show, “The Gestalt Gardener.” (This nanewsweb.com writer was unsure of the meaning of the word “gestalt.” Looked it up. Means “an organized whole that is perceived as more than the sum of its parts.” Got it?) Rushing spoke both Friday and Saturday afternoons.

Several dozen commercial vendors exhibited their wares and services in booths set up inside the Union County Arena and there were educational exhibits throughout the fairgrounds campus. Ample food vendors were also available throughout the two days.

Several dozen vendors were set up inside the Union County Arena.

This was one of several booths set up inside the Union County Arena.